Medifast CEO McDevitt to be replaced by MacDonald

Weight-loss company Medifast Inc.’s CEO Michael S. McDevitt will not renew his employment contract with the company after it expires Feb. 8.

The Owings Mills company has named Michael C. MacDonald, chairman of the board, as CEO to succeed McDevitt.

McDevitt joined the company in 2002 and led it to become one of the fastest-growing companies in Greater Baltimore. Medifast (NYSE: MED) ranks No. 3 on the Baltimore Business Journal’s List of fastest-growing public companies for growing its revenue 56 percent from 2009 to 2010. The company, which operates weight-loss centers and programs around the country, made $19.6 million on $258 million in revenue in 2010. It is on pace to top those numbers for 2011.

Before joining Medifast, McDevitt was a senior analyst for the Blackstone Group, a New York private equity firm.

MacDonald has served on Medifast’s board since 1998 and as the board’s executive chairman since Nov. 4. He most recently worked as executive vice president at Office Max Inc. and before that spent 33 years at Xerox Corp.